"Our aspirations were for waterproofing and, internally, our codename for the product was Thorpe – after the swimmer," Jason Donahue, product manager for UP told Wareable. "We really wanted to get there.

"We apologise for the delays and we apologise for not getting there yet but it's something that we aspire for the future."

The waterproofing problems the San Francisco company encountered led to months of delays for people who pre-ordered the multi-sensor wearable and the company had to bring a splash-proof, rather than a waterproof, product to market.

Donahue also told us that the decision to part company with Fullpower Technologies and its MotionX tech – essentially the brains behind the activity tracking in previous UP wearables – was one that Jawbone made, rather than the other way around.

"We now have the expertise in house, in terms of algorithms, and we wanted to have a bit more freedom to push things we wanted to explore further," he explained. "When you have full control it's much easier to make tweaks on the fly."

Earlier this year Fullpower CEO Philippe Kahn told Wareable "Thank god we have nothing to do with [the UP3]. Zero per cent of the tech on the device is ours. It's not the right device and they're also having a hard time getting it out."

Some early Jawbone UP3 reviews have been less than favourable for the new flagship tracker, although we'll reserve judgement until we've had time to fully test our sample and fully submerge ourselves in the new Smart Coach system the app offers.

The Jawbone UP3 costs $179.99 and is the natural successor to the popular Jawbone UP24. The company also recently announced the more budget friendly Jawbone UP2, essentially a redesigned UP24.

2 Comments

27-May-2015 6:45 pm

pissedinSpokane says:

I ordered a new Jawbone 3 in November and after waiting 6 months to receive it, am more than disappointed with it. The UP I had before was easier to use and the new 3 does far less than promised or capable. My last Jawbone product so you don't need to develop anymore models for me!!! Pissed in Spokane.

I loved all the ups I have had so far. It would be awesome to have a waterproof one but also if there was a special waterproof case to put it in. That would satisfy me, right now I am loving my up move, but wish I could record swimming .